Since 2008 over 200 cities worldwide celebrate International Beer Day on the first Friday of August. On IBD we’re meant to:
- gather with friends and enjoy the deliciousness of beer.
- acknowledge the men and women who brew and serve beer.
- bring the world together by celebrating the beers of all nations and cultures.
According to their journals, the Pilgrims chose in 1620 to land at Plymouth Rock in part because they needed to restock their supply of beer. Indeed, the first permanent structure they built was a brewery, and Americans have been brewing ever since. By 1810 New York City alone had 42 breweries. In Canada the first brewer registered is Jesuit Brother Ambroise, who began making beer in 1646. In 1668 Intendant Jean Talon established Canada’s first commercial brewery in Quebec City. The brewery sold its beers in the West Indies, making it the first Canadian beer ever exported.
BEER FACTS
- Beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third-most popular drink overall (after water and tea).
- With an annual production volume of about 45 billion litres, China is the world’s largest producer of beer, 12 years running.
- The Czech Republic is the beer drinking capital of the world, with a per capita consumption of 37.6 gallons a year, compared to 17.4 in Canada and 20.8 in the U.S.
- Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty beer glass.
- 85-90% of beer consumed in Canada is manufactured in Canada.
- Beer contains a high level of silicon which increases the calcium deposits and minerals for healthy bone tissue.
- The world’s largest beer festival is Oktoberfest, held annually in Munich. The 16-day event attracts more than six million people every year.
- Beer and marijuana have more in common than we might think. Beer’s hops are in the same family of flowering plants as marijuana.
- President George Washington had his own brew house at Mount Vernon.
- Since 2013 Amsterdam pays alcoholics in beer to clean the city’s streets, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in a project funded partly by the Dutch government.
- More Guinness beer is drunk in Nigeria than Ireland.
- McDonald’s serves beer in France, Germany, Austria, Spain and the Netherlands.
On Friday, August 3, 2018, I raise a glass of craft beer in a toast to my family and friends. •
Dana says
Fun read!!
Pam McPhail says
Thanks!🍺
Glen Wickens says
Most of the McPhails are beer lifers. While I did consume vast quantities in grad school — beer being both affordable and the main drink for social occasions after work — I now have turned to cocktails and cider. Where do former beer drinkers usually proceed on the spirit trail? To wine?
Pam McPhail says
Maybe they stay the course and do not become “former”.
Ian Wallace says
I had no idea there was a special day for beer lovers… at long last, some good news! If I had a dollar for every beer I have imbibed over the years I would invite all the readers of Pam’s wonderful blog, as well as Pam and Glen, on an all expenses paid week at Oktoberfest in Munich!
Pam McPhail says
Too bad you do not have the dollars, Ian, as I’d have jumped — flown — at your offer.😉
Linda Richardson says
Although I am much more of a wine drinker, I do enjoy a cold beer on a hot day and sampled some very good beers in Prague, Berlin and Amsterdam this Spring. I discovered that if I drink a light lager I avoid the bitterness that has put me off drinking beer over the years. Today I will raise a glass to you Pam and your excellent blog!
Pam McPhail says
According to the facts, you were surrounded by beer drinkers in Prague!
Linda says
Very interesting Pam! Today I raise a glass of Okanagan beer while sitting at a golf course to all my fellow beer drinkers. Unfortunately I don’t know how to include the photo.
Pam McPhail says
I like Okanagan Springs 1516, so named to celebrate the 1516 Purity Law that states only four ingredients can be used in making beer: barley, hops, yeast and water.
Linda Richardson says
I tried the 1516 in Princeton on a recent trip to Nelson and again on our 35th anniversary spent in Sydney br the Sea. Very nice.
Tim McPhail says
Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty beer glass.
Thank you Pam for a word to describe my greatest fear. I would fight through spiders, snakes, and confined spaces to fill my empty bear glass.
Pam McPhail says
I thought you would enjoy the word, Tim. Though it means empty glass, in the case of McPhails, we can modify it with beer.
Ken H Mclean says
Thanks for an entertaining column, Pam. Unbeknownst to myself, I celebrated International Beer Day on Friday by drinking some good Nova Scotia beers, and on Saturday, visited the brewery in Tatamagouche, just as the brewing process was underway. Earlier in July, I went on a tour of 3 microbreweries in Galt, Ontario (out of the 5 located there)Beermaking is now found everywhere !
Pam McPhail says
I’ve not been on a brewery tour, Ken, but years ago, at one of our alumni events, McAuslan Brewery of Montreal gave a beer tasting in the faculty lounge. The beer sommelier presented a detailed account of the brewing process. Fascinating. And I sampled Apricot beer for the first — and last — time. Launched in 1989, McAuslan Brewery apparently became the first micro-brewery to offer bottled product.
Rick, Victoria says
Man, woman, birth, death, infinity, BEER.
Nobody said it better than Ben Casey.
Pam McPhail says
You’re showing good, long-term memory with your comment! And, as always, a bit of humour.